Chapter 27 (2/2)

Tough, thick vines will grow in the place of impact. They react to dragon blood and will bind the dragon. If a few overlap, they can make a dragon momentarily falter.

——————–

Choi Hyuk, who examined the items, smiled bitterly.

“This is good news and very bad news…”

There were three conditions that needed to be met to hunt the Wyvern of Destruction.

First was completing the blade of karma and the second was evolving the blade. Then there was the last condition. The additional condition that Baek Seoin said they absolutely needed…

An ‘army’ that would fight until the end.

The addition of Dragon Hunting Weapons was welcomed as they would be a way to fight against the Wyvern. However… for there to be a 1-person escape code… it was the worst.

Just then, he heard commander Kang Dongsoo’s orders.

“Pus.h.!.+ Pus.h.!.+ Last one! Push with all your strength!”

Following Kang Dongsoo’s orders, people used their last remaining strength and pushed against the monsters. They pushed with s.h.i.+elds, stabbed with spears and slashed with swords.

The ranks of the monsters collapsed and were hopelessly pushed back as their commanders had almost all been wiped out. There were even some that looked at their comrades before running away. These monsters that were slowly being pushed back had at some point all started to run away.

Uahhhh!

The roars of the humans shook the ground. They used the last of their strength to bang their weapons together and slam the ground. Some were so agitated that they even started the chase the fleeing monsters.

“Stop!! Stop the chase!”

Kang Dongsoo shouted. As they had surrounded the monsters with the HakIkJin formation, they definitely had the room to chase them. However, Kang Dongsoo decided to stop here.

It was because everyone’s stamina had reached their limits. If they were to fight in this condition, casualties would quickly pile up.

People who were extremely exhausted paused and gathered their breath. There were some who held their knees and panted.

They saw the scattered monsters fleeing in front of them. The people once again roared, forgetting their exhaustion momentarily.

Uoahhhhhh!!

4 hours of fighting. Three portals were destroyed. 20,000 monsters were wiped out. On the other hand, 3,000 humans died and 2,000 were critically wounded to the point that their recovery stat would be of no use.

It was a great victory.

The guardian Bae Jinman greeted the expedition in front of the Hyunhae Department Store. The first thing he did when they arrived was examining the wounded.

He started to treat those who had critical injuries like cut limbs or split heads. There were plenty of people who had lost fingers but they were pushed to the back.

Paah!

Light emitted out of Bae Jinman’s hand as the wounded’s arms and legs regrew.

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s amazing.”

Lee Jinhee who was observing from afar remarked.

“It looks like it’s harder to regrow limbs than cut them off… I’m telling you, he treats hundreds of people a day!”

An exposition was tacked onto her admiration.

“They say that when he regrows limbs, he uses the retribution points of the wounded. To regrow one limb, they say you have to spend 100 Retribution Points. And a portion of the consumed Retribution Points is used to help him grow.”

“Really? It’s still amazing…”

“Well… he’s the only healer. Even though I’m not completely certain, I bet he has more karma points than our boss?”

As he said that, Baek Seoin glanced at Choi Hyuk. Choi Hyuk was deep in his thoughts.

Baek Seoin abruptly asked.

“Is it because of the 1-Person Escape Code?”

Choi Hyuk nodded.

The 1-Person Escape Code was quite a serious problem.

Originally the rule stated that [Only the troops who have obtained the escape code can escape] which meant that escape codes were only given to troops, meaning only those who had received the king t.i.tle would be able to obtain them. A rule that made it so that the members of the troops cooperated with each other. That rule had become the foothold in uniting everyone’s strength.

However, in this situation, these [1-Person Escape Codes] could become the poison that could destroy these troops. If one took extreme measures and ignored their a.s.sembly area and troops, couldn’t they just hide on the outskirts of the war zone (Kangdong District) and use it when the time came?

It felt a bit better knowing that the drop rate was low but he couldn’t help but trouble himself over it.

‘There is no way I can kill the Wyvern of Destruction without an army backing me up.”

This fact was something Choi Hyuk was becoming glaringly aware of. Without an army, he might collapse trying to pierce through the monsters. However, a temptation that could break apart that army had appeared.

‘And I still wasn’t able to solve a bigger problem.’

Choi Hyuk closed his eyes in deep thought.

Baek Seoin said.

“First, it’s not like we can do anything about the 1-Person Escape Code right now. Isn’t there a problem we have to settle beforehand?”

Choi Hyuk replied, nodding his head.

“We have to persuade the kings.”

The other kings still didn’t know Choi Hyuk’s other objective. They were only told that the suicide squad’s role would be to destroy portals and grab the Wyvern of Destruction’s attention. They were under the belief that the suicide squad would keep the wyvern busy until they obtained the escape code and once they did, they would retreat. If that happened, Choi Hyuk, who planned on killing the wyvern, would be isolated.

Because of this, he had to persuade the kings. Either persuade them to kill the wyvern together or at least, make them stay and fight longer. However, there wasn’t a suitable method. Was there any reason to put others in more danger and fight the wyvern?

‘I wish I could just kill them all myself…’

Choi Hyuk felt frustrated. He thought that he wouldn’t have to painfully rack his brains over this if his opponent was instead an incredibly strong human-like monster. Too many enemies. And to fight against such a large opponent… problems he couldn’t handle himself cropped up one after another. However, politics wasn’t Choi Hyuk’s strong point.

Choi Hyuk looked to be in pain as he knitted his brows. Looking at him, Baek Seoin smiled.

“Why are you worrying about it yourself when you have such great followers?”

Baek Seoin tapped his own head.

“I already had a plan when I said we needed an army.”

Choi Hyuk looked blankly at Baek Seoin. Now that he thought about it, the first one to suggest an army was Baek Seoin. He would obviously have some thoughts on this matter. However, Choi Hyuk, who never really had a friend, never had the idea of asking someone for help. He only tried to solve everything himself.

So, to Choi Hyuk, Baek Seoin saying that he could do it was like a breath of fresh air.

As if he was captivated, he asked.

“How?”

Baek Seoin replied right away.

“The Crazy Knight King.”

“Jung Minji?”

“Yes. We are going to persuade her.”

Baek Seoin revealed a hidden smile.

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